We all love the certainty of the solid revenue that comes from a big customer. It gives us credibility with other prospects. It pays a lot of salaries. Occasionally we reflect on the risk to our business if they left us...most of the time we don't.

Yet the tyranny of the major customer can help us hide from the real foundations of creating a repeatable sales process or building products that many customers want. It can keep us too focused on the needs of that major customer.

People spend a lot of time talking about "sweet spot” or ideal customers, who are the best fit for their business.

But what about the sour spot customers? How much time do you spend talking about the customers who are a bad fit for your business? In some ways they may be customers you prefer not to think about. Like bad relationships if you don't think about them, they may not appear to be there.

In one of our publications, Three Steps to More Referrals, we discuss the fact that most clients who receive great service are happy to recommend you – yet industry figures suggest that only 20% actually do.

Why is this? Well, the simple answer is that in most cases companies just don’t ask. We always ask for referrals. They make good business sense.